On Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost island, thousands of migrants packed a reception center built for 600 people, while small boats continued to arrive from Tunisia.
On the outskirts of Rome, a bus carrying migrants from Sicily to A facility in the north crashed into a truck on September 15, killing the drivers of both vehicles and injuring 19 migrants.
The enormous challenges posed by immigration have once again taken center stage, undermining efforts by the far-right ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to demonstrate progress on migration.
Before her election last year, Meloni positioned herself as a staunch opponent of migration, calling for a “naval siege” and suggesting that boats used to rescue migrants be sunk once they had disembarked.
Since taking power, he has changed tactics, signing a European Union deal with Tunisia aimed at stemming the flow of migrants from that country and working with the bloc to redistribute among member states those who do arrive.
It now finds itself in a similar dilemma as previous Italian governments. Members of Meloni’s coalition are calling for him to take a tougher approach and say Italy needs more support from other European countries.
“Europe is impressively absent, distant, distracted,” said Matteo Salvini, leader of the League party in the coalition. “We will have to defend our borders on our own.”
In July, in an agreement strongly backed by Meloni, the Tunisian government promised to reinforce its maritime borders and speed up the return of those who arrived illegally, in exchange for help for its ailing economy. That money has not yet been disbursed.
Lampedusa, a small rocky landmass surrounded by turquoise waters and with a population of about 6,000 people, has been the main destination for migrants from Tunisia. Some islanders worry that these could harm the tourism industry, but many express empathy for the people who land on their shores.
With the increase in migrant arrivals, Lampedusa has become a flashpoint of growing tensions between Italy and North Africa, as well as its European neighbors.
France has announced stricter border controls to prevent migrants who arrived in Italy from heading north. Germany has stopped accepting asylum seekers under the European Union’s “voluntary solidarity mechanism,” saying Italy has not been accepting migrants who initially arrived there, as European rules indicate.
Around 126,000 migrants have landed in Italy so far this year, more than double the number who arrived in 2022.
Italian coast guard boats often rescue migrants miles from shore and take them to a dock that only doctors, police and officials can access. They are then taken by bus to the reception camp, isolated from the City. Once authorities determine the migrants’ next destination in Italy, they are transferred by ferry or plane to the mainland.
But as the numbers have risen, that system has collapsed. Exasperated migrants have been pushing to be moved more quickly, and videos on social media show outbreaks of fights and tension inside the camp.
Some politicians have been pressuring the Government to deploy the Navy to pick up migrants at sea and ease the burden on the island.
Meloni has rejected that idea in the past.
“Sending our military Navy to work as a ferry to pick up migrants only makes us waste millions and millions of euros,” he said.
By: Gaia Pianigiani
The New York Times
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/6899568, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-09-20 17:50:06
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